Stocks pullback from record highs as stimulus drama continues A positive open on Wall Street propeled the indexes further into record high territory, though they couldn't hold there and ended the day with losses across the board. The passage of the U.S. stimulus deal, the Christmas Eve Brexit compromise and the continued roll-out of vaccines continues to underpin risk-on sentiment, though investors seem to be mildly disappointed that it appears lawmakers have not yet been able to strike a deal to bump up the amount of aid the government will soon be sending to Americans. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the S&P Case Shiller 20-City home price index rose 1.3% to 235.8 in October, which was another record peak and better than expected. In Capitol Hill news, Senate Republicans, led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, blocked an attempt by Democrats to increase stimulus payments in the COVID-19 relief bill from $600 to $2,000 per qualifying adult. TOP NEWS: Shares of Intel ($INTC) jumped almost 5% after both Reuters and CNBC reported that activist hedge fund Third Point has built a nearly $1B position and is pushing the chipmaker to explore strategic alternatives. In response, Intel said it "welcomes input from all investors regarding enhanced shareholder value." It added, "In that spirit, we look forward to engaging with Third Point LLC on their ideas towards that goal." Shares of Arcturus Therapeutics ($ARCT) plunged over 54% as the market expressed significant disappointment with a Phase 1/2 data update for its COVID-19 mRNA vaccine candidate, ARCT-021. Boeing ($BA) shares closed fractionally higher after American Airlines ($AAL) restarted its 737 MAX commercial flights today following the FAA lifting restrictions on the long-grounded aircraft last month. Lingling Wei of The Wall Street Journal reported, citing Chinese officials and government advisers familiar with the matter, that China's government is seeking to shrink Jack Ma's technology and financial empire and potentially take a larger stake in his businesses. Ma founded both online-payment provider and loan maker Ant Group and its e-commerce affiliate Alibaba Group ($BABA). MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Immersion ($IMMR), which rose 37.4% after Colliers analyst Charles Anderson raised the firm's price target to $15 and reiterated a Buy rating on the shares, citing the view that Sony's ($SNE) PlayStation 5 is a "breakthrough" for Immersion' haptics technology. Also higher was Caesarstone ($CSTE), which gained 20.3% after Benchmark analyst Reuben Garner initiated coverage with a Buy rating and $16 price target, calling the stock a "rare housing vaccine play." Among the notable losers was Actinium Pharmaceuticals ($ATNM), which dropped 24.6% after announcing that the independent Data Monitoring Committee for the pivotal Phase 3 SIERRA study of Iomab-B for bone marrow transplant conditioning in patients over the age of 55 with active relapsed or refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia recommended that the study continue as planned to full enrollment of 150 patients. Also lower was Seer ($SEER), which fell over 14% after analysts began to roll out coverage of the stock following the company's IPO. Among them, BofA analyst Derik de Bruin initiated coverage of Seer with a Neutral rating and $69 price target while Morgan Stanley analyst Tejas Savant initiated coverage with an Equal Weight rating and $65 target. Nasdaq Composite +43.2% YTDRussell 2000 +17.4% YTDS&P 500 +15.4% YTDDow Jones Industrial Average +6.3% YTDMarket SnapshotDow30335.61-68.30(-0.22%)Nasdaq12850.23-49.20(-0.38%)SP 5003727.04-8.32(-0.22%)10-yr Note -1/320.934NYSEAdv 1080 Dec 2029 Vol 724.3 mlnNasdaqAdv 1078 Dec 2692 Vol 4.6 blnIndustry WatchStrong: Health Care, Consumer DiscretionaryWeak: Information Technology, Energy, Industrials, Real EstateMoving the Market-- Large-cap indices set new highs at open, but buyer exhaustion kicked in-- Profit-taking interest in recent high-flyers like small-caps and momentum stocks; mega-caps limit index declines-- Senate Majority Leader McConnell said the Senate will address stimulus checks this week Disclosure: I may trade in the ticker symbols mentioned, both long or short. My articles represent my personal opinion and analysis and should not be taken as investment advice. Readers should do their own research before making decisions to buy or sell securities. Trading and investing include risks, including loss of principal. If you liked this article, please click the LIKE (thumbs up) button. Feel free to leave any comments, question, or opinions. (Sign-up if you haven't already done so). Follow us/bookmark us and check back occasionally for additional articles or comments on our page... Wild Tiger Trading - start/main page. .